Introduction
The Black Death is often described as the worst natural disaster in European history. The Black Death is the 14 th century Plague that spread throughout Europe between 1346 and 1352 causing more than 50 million deaths (Caspermeyer, 2016). Before the Black Death, another destructive plague occurred in the 6 th century. The Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis , a zoonotic bacteria found in small mammals like rates and flees. Human beings are infected through bite, contact with infectious bodily fluids and inhalation of respiratory droplets from people with the Plague. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the causes of the three major Plagues in history that occurred in the 6 th , 14 th and 17 th century.
Question # 1
The World Health Organization (2018) states that Plague is a deadly disease, particularly septicemic and pneumonic forms. Septicemic Plague is caused by systemic infection by bacteria in the bloodstream, whereas the pneumonic form is highly contagious because it is spread through person-to-person contact through droplets in the air. Bubonic Plague is caused by a bite of an infected flea, which travels to the nearest lymphatic node and cause painful inflammation called a ‘bubo.’ Bubos are the size of a chicken egg, often located in the armpits, groin or neck. Other symptoms of the bubonic plague are fever and chills, headache, fatigue and muscle aches. Pneumonic plague is an advanced stage when bubonic plague affects the lungs. Some of the symptoms of pneumonic plague include difficulty with breathing, cough with blood sputum, nausea, high fever, headache and weakness.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The 6 th century outbreak is often described as the first Plague in history. The 6 th century Plague is also known as Justinian’s Plague because it occurred in the Eastern Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Justinian. 6 th century literature reported that Emperor Justinian fell sick with Plague, but he recovered and continued ruling for more than a decade. According to Caspermeyer (2016), scientists recovered bacterial material from sixth century skeletons with the aim of generating high-coverage genome for the bacterial agent that caused the Justinian Plague. The Justinian Plague is classified as one of the earliest and catastrophic cases because the symptoms fit the contemporary description of bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic forms of Plague (Caspermeyer, 2016). The plagued wiped out half of the population when it ended in the 7 th century.
The 14 th century epidemic is considered the greatest Plague in history. It started in Italy in 1346, and reached London in 1348. By the beginning of 1349, at least 200 people were buried every day in Plague-related deaths. The Black Death came in bubonic and pneumonic forms, those with bubonic plague had high fever, carbuncles and enlarged lymph nodes. Individuals with pneumonic plague had high fever, cough with blood and small black pustules on their bodies, hence the name the Black Death. Pneumonic Plague was extremely fatal, and those with pneumonic plague were bed ridden for 2-3 days and died on the 3 rd or 4 th day.
Lastly, the 17 th century plague was not as deadly as the Black Death, but it killed many people reducing the population of London by 15% (Defoe, 1904). The earliest cases of the Plague were seen in 1665 and the death rate began to rise slowly. During the hot summer of 1666, about 7,165 Londoners died every week. Most of the sick people had symptoms of bubonic plague, they had buboes in the armpits, groin and neck. They also experienced headaches, vomiting and fever. Cases of pneumonic and septicaemic plague were also present, and most individuals who showed their symptoms did not survive.
Question # 2
According to the CDC (2015) the plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium that affects small rodents like rats, mice and squirrels. The infection is the transmitted through the bite of an infected flea. The black rats are often blamed for causing plagues in the 6 th century. Recent analysis of DNA of the skeletal remains show that the Justinian Plague Pathogen is the same as the Plague Pathogen that caused the Black Death (Caspermeyer, 2016). However, some archaeologists argue that the rodents are innocent, especially for the Black Death. Rats spread bubonic plague, which could not spread fast enough to wipe out a third of the European population, therefore, the victims could be responsible for spreading pneumonic plague which killed many people only in a few years. The 17 th century plague was not as deadly as the Black Death, thus the rates played a significant factor as carriers for the disease.
Question # 3
The black rat fleas are responsible for transporting the disease from the rats to human beings. As stated earlier, the Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis , which affects rodents. It is hard for rodents, particularly rats to come in contact with human beings, and without a vector (fleas) the Plague would not have found its way to human beings. Just like rats, the infected fleas were capable of traveling long distance and spreading the disease to many people. The Justinian Plague was a bubonic plague, thus the fleas played an important role. According to Cohen (2011) the infected fleas continued feeding, biting with increasing frequency in an attempt to relieve the obstruction caused by the accumulated blood with the mass of Yersinia pestis bacilli into the host blood stream. The fleas also played a crucial role in the 17 th century plague, because it was largely a bubonic plague unlike the Black Death which had many cases of pneumonic and septicemic plague.
In conclusion, the three plagues changed the cause of human history for good as it is responsible for many deaths. The Plagues were accelerated by the absence of sanitary procedures and lack of medical knowledge. The cities were filthy, and they were homes to rats and fleas that carried the Plague bacteria. The Plague still exists in modern society, but it is not as dangerous as in the cases of Justinian Plague and Black Death. The advancement in medical knowledge has positively changed the prognosis for bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic plague.
References
Caspermeyer, J. (2016). Reconstructing the Sixth Century Plague from a Victim. Molecular Biology and Evolution , 33.11, 3028-3029.
Centers for Disease Control. (2015). Plague: History. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/history/index.html
Cohen, J. (2011). Is the Black Death the Ancestor of All Modern Plagues? History. Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/news/is-the-black-death-the-ancestor-of-all-modern- plagues
Defoe, D. (1904). A journal of the plague year (Vol. 9). D. Estes & Company.
World Health Organization. (2018). Plague. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/en/news- room/fact-sheets/detail/plague
